Fire extinguisher



Patented Jan. 23, 1940 ems-r FIRE EXTINGUISHER Albert V. Martin, ElmwocdPark, Ill. Application March 16, 1937, Serial No. 196,257

10 Claims (Cl. res-31) My invention relates to fire extinguishers and ithas specific reference to devices of this character that are relativelysmall in size so that they may be readily carried in the hand of theuser or maybe stored in a convenient space such, for example, as on thewall or other portion of an automobile body.

' The fire extinguisher which I have invented embodies a container,preferably of sheet-metal, that is charged with a suitable fireextinguishing fluid under pressure, and means are provided for clearlyindicating whether the pressure in the container has been dissipated.The container or receptacle is made so the contents are sealed againstleakage and I have provided novel means that may be quickly operated toopen the container for the discharge of the fire extinguishing fluid.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a fire extinguisherthat is novel in construction and effective in performing its functions.Another object is the "provision of a device that has practically nocomplicated parts to get out 'of order, and which will discharge itsfluid by means of the self-contained pressure in the container, thusavoiding the use of a hand-pump or the like. The articlewhich I haveinvented is not bulky and it is easy to manipulate when being used.Other objects and advantages of my improved fire, extinguisher will beapparent to persons skilled in the art after the construction andoperation thereof is understood from the following description taken inconnection with the drawing.

I prefer to practice my invention, and 'to accomplish the numerousobjects thereof, in substantially the manner hereafter fully disclosed.

, Reference is now' made to the accompanying drawing in which likereference characters are used to identify like parts in the severalviews.

In the drawing: I Figure 1 is a vertical axial section of my improvedfire extinguisher.v

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of the upper portion of thestructure shown at the rightin Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical section online 3-3 of Figure 1, looking into thedirection of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a view, partly in section, showing relative positions ofcertain parts after the dis- 'charge nozzle has been unsealed and theextinguisher is in use.

. The drawing is to be understoodas more or less schematic and is forthe purpose of showvention may be made.

ing a typical or preferred formin which my in- Referring initially toFigure 3., the container comprises a-cylindrical wall it of suitablediameter having an upper end wall 5 l thatis integral with thecylindrical wall, and a lower end wall l2 that is cupped and has itsannular flange l3 brazed, soldered, or otherwise permanently secured toand sealed tothe adjacent inner surface of the cylindrical wall it! toprevent leakageof air or, liquid. Thus assembled the container has ashallow recess at its bottom to accommodate certain instrumentalities ofthe fire extinguisher.

The bottom wall l2 is provided with a small opening in which a fillingstub it is positioned, which stub has a fiangedinner end it that issoldered or otherwise secured to the lower end wall, and said stub has acentral passageway It to communicate with the interior of the container.The passageway It has a small tube. I!

inserted in it and secured in place by solder or otherwise, which sealsthe joint between these parts. The extinguishing fluid is insertedthrough the tube under pressure in the usual manner of filling sealedcontainers and after the container has been charged with a quantity of jfluid the walls of the protruding portion of the tube ll are tightlycrimped together as indicated at E8 and its end is covered with a cap i9. After the crimping and capping this portion of the structure isdipped in solder to provide a definite seal.

It isdesirable to indicate to the user whether there is pressure in thecontainer, and in order to do this I have provided a novel device. Asshown in Figure 1, the lower end Wall hasfan opening 20 of substantialdiameter and the margin of the metal around the opening is provided withannular shoulder or stepped portions formingseatsti andZZ disposedconcentric to each other. A diaphragmplate 23 of the corrugated type isplaced upon and sealed in the annular seat 2|, and a small stud 2t isanchored tothe central or axial portion of the diaphragm 23 and projectsdown therefrom into the recess at the bottom portion of the container.end portions or feet 25 of a U-shaped bridge member 25 are anchored inthe annular seat 22 so that the horizontal portion of the bridge memberextendsdiametrioally across the diaphragm and is spaced therefrom adistance equal to the length of the stud. A central aperture 2] is madein the bridge to accommodate the free end stud :24- which, for thepurpose ofproviding a visual indicator isxcoated with a red or othercolored The lateral lee coating 28. When the container is empty or whenthere is no pressure therein the colored indicator end of the stud 214is disposed flush with the surface of the bridge 26, but when there ispressure in the container the diaphragm will be bulged outward is shownin Figure 1 causing the indicator end 28 of the stud to protrude beyondthe bridge where it may be both seen by the eyes as well as touched bythe-fingers of the person examining the apparatus.

Means are provided at the upper end of the container for carrying thedevice or for hanging it upon the wall or the like. This means is in theform of a strap handle 29 of substantially U-shape, the arms of whichextend down upon the outside surface of the cylindrical wall Ill and aresecured thereto in any suitablemanner. An aperture of pear-shape orkey-hole shape may be made in one of the arms for hanging theextinguisher upon a nail 36 or the like. The other arm of the handle hasits lower end portion provided with a horizontal flange 3! extendingacross it above its-end and there is also a pair of oppositely disposedside wings 32, all of which provide a guard or shield for the upper endportion of the operating lever 33. The inner or facing surfaces of thewings 32 have small alined embossments 34 that permit the adjacentportion of lever 33 to be snapped behind them, as shown in Figures 1 and2 and thus retain the lever normally against accidental dislodgment. Thelever is provided with an outwardly bowed or arched finger-grasp 35below the guard members above described, and below the finger-grasp thebody of the lever extends down substantially parallel with thecylindrical wall of the container to the discharge spout 36. l

The discharge spout just mentioned is a metal piece having a small bore31 that is increased in diameter at its outer portion as at 38 in orderto provide an outer wall 39 of reduced thickness. The inner end of thisdischarge nozzle has an annular flange 40 that is soldered, brazed, orotherwise secured, to the inner surface of the container wall around theopening through which the spout protrudes. The reduced wall 39 has itsouter edge sealed by means of a removable strip 4| which is secured inplace upon the edge of said wall preferably by a soft solder so that itmay be readily ripped or torn loose when the lever 33 is operated. Thisstrip ll is of sufiicient size to cover the entire outer opening of thedischarge nozzle and it has an extension 42 that passes through a slit43 in the adjacent opposite portion of the lever and is securelymaintained against the outer surface of the lever in any suitablemanner.

At its lower end the lever has a lateral portion 44 that projectsoutwardly approximately parallel to the axis of the nozzle, and hasdownwardly extending portion 45 that is disposed across the front of thenozzle, and at its lower end is bent inwardly as at 43 below the nozzle.U- shaped arms 41 extend upwardly from the lower section 46 of the leverand are journaled upon a pin 48 that passes through the nozzle below thebore thereof. These U-shaped arms 41 are open at their lower portions topermit them to be readily disengaged from the pin when the lever hasbeen operated to unseal and open the discharge nozzle as indicated inFigure 4. The container havingbeen opened by this operation the fluidunder pressure will be discharged through the central orifice of thenozzle and the operator may direct the stream as desired;

The fluid I prefer to employ is a solution of carbon tetrachloride andother ingredients to lower the freezing point of the fluid, but it willbe understood that other fluids or solutions may be used in an effectivemanner. It will be seen the fire extinguisher I have invented containsthe fluid under sufiicient pressure to expel such fluid a suitabledistance from the container and the container is, at all times prior toits being used, hermetically sealed under pressure. Also I have providedefiective means; for indicating whether the pressure in the containerhas become dissipated, such means may be observed both by the sense oftouch and by the sense of sight of v the person inspecting the same. Thefree end of lever 33 is protected by the flange and wing guard whichprevents accidental dislodgment, and the lower portion of the leverprotects the nozzle by its formation of a guard around the latter thatis supplemented by wings projecting from the short vertical 45 of thelever inward towards the container on both sides of the nozzle.

What I claim is: g

l. A fire extinguisher comprising a cylindrical container charged with afluid under pressure, said container having end walls, an annular seatin one of said end walls, a flexible diaphragm sealed in said seat, amember extending across said diaphragm, a stud supported by saiddiaphragm and guided through said member, a sealed nozzle for saidcontainer, and means for rupturing the seal of said nozzle to dischargefluid from said container.

2. A fire extinguisher comprising a cylindrical member whereby toindicate pressure conditions within said container,.a discharge nozzlefor said container, a seal closing said nozzle, and means for removingsaid seal.

3. A fire extinguisher comprising a container adapted to hold fluid, anozzle therefor, a lever having its portion adjacent its fulcrumdisposed across the discharge port of said nozzle and provided with aslit, and a rip-strip sealing the discharge port of said nozzle, saidstrip having an extension that passes through said slit and is anchoredto an adjacent portion of said lever.

4. A fire extinguisher comprising a container adapted to hold fluid, anozzle therefor, a hand lever fulcrumed at one end adjacent said nozzleand extended across the discharge port of said nozzle, said lever havinga slit adjacent said nozzle and having its free portion disposed alongthe adjacent wall of said container, and a seal closing the dischargeport of said nozzle, said seal having a portion passed through said slitand anchored to said lever. I

5. A fire extinguisher comprising a container adapted to hold fluid, anozzle in the lower portion thereof, a hand lever having afulcrumadjacent the lower end of said container, said lever extending infront of said nozzle and upward along the side wall of said containertoward the upper end thereof, said lever having a slit adjacent saidnozzle, a'rip-strip sealing the-discharge port of said nozzle, saidstrip having a portion passed through said slit and anchored to saidlever, whereby when said lever is moved upon its fulcrum said strip isadapted to be torn from said,

direction away from said container, whereby to unseal saidrip-strip-from said port and discharge the fluid.

7. A fire extinguisher comprising a container charged with fluid underpressure, a discharge port adjacent an end of said container, a handlefor said container, a hand-lever iulcrumed for movement with respect tosaid port and disposed outside said container, said hand lever having aportion overlying a portion of said handle, a

rip-strip sealed across said discharge port and anchored to saidhand-lever, and means releas ably maintaining said lever in associatedrelation to said handle, whereby, upon being released from said handle,said hand-lever is adapted for movement in a plane radial to the axis ofsaid container and away from said container to remove said rip-stripfrom said port to discharge the fluid.

8. A fire extinguisher comprising a container charged with fluid underpressure, a discharge nozzle near an end thereof, a handle at the upperend of said container, a rip-strip healing the port of said nozz1e,andmeans for unsealing said ripstrip and to which said rip-stripisconnected, said means embodying an operatingv lever extending in frontof said nozzle and disposed alongside said container, and a protectingcap on said lever disposed around the outer portion of said nozzle.

9. A fire extinguisher comprising a container charged with fluid underpressure, a discharge port near an end'thereof, a handle at the upperend of said container, a rip-strip sealing said discharge port, andmeans for unsealing said ripstrip to which said rip-strip is connected,said means embodying an operating lever disposed 1 alongside saidcontainer and having a portion releasably associated with said handle, aprotecting cap on said lever disposed around'said discharge port, andmeans for releasably maintaining said lever in association with saidhandle, said lever upon being released adapted for movement in a planeradial to' the axis of the container and away y from the latter wherebythe discharge port is unsealed. I I

10. A fire-extinguisher comprising a cylindricalcontainer'charged-with'a' fluid under pressure;

a nozzle for said container having a dischargeport, said nozzledisposedwith its axis in a plane common to the'axis of said container; aripstrip releasably'secured to said nozzle and providing a seal for saidport; and lever means connected to said seal and fulcrumed for movementwith respect to said nozzle, said lever means adapted for movement in anoutward direction radial to the axis of the container whereby to ripsaid seal from said port and openthe'latterr ALBERT V. NIARTIN.

